Myanmar Edible Oil Dealers’ Association extended customer service for the door-to-door distribution scheme by adding one more phone number with nine extension lines, allowing customers to connect with them and facilitate order placement, according to its notification declared on 7 August.
Under the guidance of the Yangon Region Palm Oil Door-to-Door Distribution Committee, the association has received orders from 31 July 2024. Earlier, the orders could be placed through the call centre phone at 012399222 (seven extension lines) from Monday to Saturday (except Sundays and public holidays) from 9 am to 4 pm. On 8 August, one more contact number was added to improve sales.
The association announced on 30 July that palm oil importing committees, under the guidance of the supervision committee on edible oil import and distribution, have been distributing palm oil to consumers through wholesale and retail shops across 44 townships of Yangon Region. Yet, some still find difficulty in buying palm oil at shops, prompting the association to provide door-to-door service in which each household can buy two visses of palm oil per month.
The price will depend on wholesale reference prices issued on a weekly basis on Monday-issued newspapers, and only packaging costs will be added. The customer must bear the delivery fee. The association offers cash on delivery sales. The goods will arrive three days after order placement.
The wholesale reference rate of palm oil for the Yangon market is set at K5,780 per viss this week, ending 11 August, according to the Supervisory Committee on edible oil import and distribution.
The Supervisory Committee on Edible Oil Import and Distribution under the Ministry of Commerce has been closely observing the FOB prices in Malaysia and Indonesia, adding transport costs, tariffs and banking services to decide the wholesale market reference rate for edible oil on a weekly basis.
Despite the reference price, the market price is way too high.
To control overcharging, the Consumer Affairs Department under the Ministry of Commerce informed the consumers of lodging the complaints for overcharging through the call centre’s hotline in late August. The department urged consumers not to buy palm oil at high prices. The committee notified that any person who is involved in price gouging and oil storage to attempt market manipulation will face legal action under the Essential Goods and Services Law.
The department is working together with the Myanmar Oil Dealers’ Association and the cooking oil importing companies to offer affordable rates of imported palm oil for consumers.
The complaints for overcharging can be lodged over hotline 1535 of the call centre of the Consumers Affairs Department or sent to the Facebook page of the department and the region and state departments concerned.
The domestic consumption of palm oil is estimated at one million tonnes per year. The local palm oil production is just about 400,000 tonnes. About 700,000 tonnes of palm oil are yearly imported through Malaysia and Indonesia to meet domestic demands. — NN/KK
